[Laxntiga]

Hey guys and gals. I bought a can of seafoam and put the recomended amount into the crank case (the place I put oil in when I do oil changes) and my gas tank.

My friend tells me you are supposed to use seafoam with your dirty oil, let it run a bit, then do your regular oil change. I did the opposite. I did my oil change then topped it off with the recomended amount of seafoam.


From your experience, is my friend right? Am I supposed to put in seafoam with dirty oil, do the oil change? Or can I leave the seafoam in with the new oil? It didn't say when to add seafoam on the instructions.

Let me know! Thanks

[rms13]

i heard others say it thins out your oil so do plan to change it out sometime. My friend went a week after doing it, autoX'ed, then went another week before changing his oil and his car is fine. I'd do it soon just to be on the safe side, I guess. I've always changed my oil right after the seafoam has done burning off all the carbon build it can.

[kelvin6]

There are Three ways to use Seafoam, two of which I don't recommend.

- Into the crankcase, pour into oil. This method introduces the seafoam into the oil. Seafoam is a solvent chemical which can loosen up and dislodge any oil sludge and varnish. This method I do NOT recommend as any sludge or varnish can come loose and potentially get trapped and clog oil passages in the engine, can get sucked up and block the oil pump screen, etc. If you do this method, you must change the oil out immediately, because of the possibility of clogging and starving the engine of oil (to certain parts), and the fact that Seafoam is a heavy duty solvent it makes makes the motor oil very unstable (chemically speaking).

- Into the fuel tank. This method is similiar to putting fuel system cleaners into your gas tank. Its questionable if it really is effective or not, but be warned that using too much seafoam without the right amount of gasoline to dilute it, can cause rubber to soften up (fuel lines) and deteriorate the rubber o-rings and fuel lines of the car.

- Into the vacuum system. This method is the most common, because it allows the car to suck in the seafoam and this solvent can help clean out the intake valves (clearing it of carbon/and oil sludge/varnish from the PCV). Also this method also cleans up the piston head surface pretty well. See the pictures below. This is a image from a Volvo 5 Cylinder engine where the left piston got the seafoam whereas the right didn't:


To do this method, I must warn you of the possible risks.

-This can potentially hydrolock your engine if too much is sucked in too quickly.
-Too much seafoam can make your car incredibly hard to start, after waiting for it to clean the combustion chamber.
-Seafoam will also expose exhaust leaks. If there is a leak near the engine, it will flood the area you are working in with smoke, hazardous smoke to your health.
-Can potentially clog your catalytic converter if lots of carbon is dislodged. Also can foul the 02 Sensor...
-I nor Soompi will be responsible if any damage or injury occurs if you attempt this procedure.

To do this intake method, you must obtain some vacuum hose. Do not use a existing vacuum hose, because seafoam does deteriorate rubber and will soften it. It is cheap at the local autoparts store. Disconnect a vacuum line (must be post-throttle body), put in a new vacuum hose into the vacuum 'nipple'. Tie a knot around the new hose to prevent a vacuum leak. Start the car. Set the car in PARK or NEUTRAL and set the parking brake. Go back to the hose and as you untie it, pinch off the end with your fingers and slowly, while unpinching, dip it into the Seafoam can or other measuring container with Seafoam. Dip in and dip out slowly (while dipping out, be sure to pinch it). You will have to regulate and determine how long to dip it in for as if you go too long, the car will stall or ingest too much fluid. So keep doing this dip in and dip out repeatedly, until you sucked up a few ounces of fluid. Stop the car (and reconnect the vacuum hose that you originally removed) let it rest for 15 minutes or so, and restart. It may be hard to start, so you know. Then go for a spirited drive to burn off the seafoam. WARNING: The smoke is hazardous to your health and others, you becareful when you stop the car with it heavily smoking... the heavy smoking should stop in about a mile or two of driving.

I hope these tips help. I don't really do seafoam much anymore.

[Stevent]

It's better to do seafoam before you change your oil because the dirty deposits in your engine gets loose and mixed with your oil. When using seafoam, it takes a while for the white smoke to clear up, but when you start, there's going to be a lot of smoke coming out from your exhaust. I usually put 1/4 of the can in my gas tank and the rest into the vacuum line.

[boost]

skip all that and rip the motor out to rebuild/upgrade everything

[GGk723]

skip all that and rip the motor out to rebuild/upgrade everything

hahaha! agreed on that. why risk hydro lock and break a connecting rod when you can just rebuild the engine completely?

[Laxntiga]

Rebuild = Mass K

Seafoam = $5.00

[GGk723]

Rebuild = Mass K

Seafoam = $5.00

yaaahhh i know
i was just kidding

but if you do end up getting hydro locked you'll have to go through all the engine rebuild anyway
or take it to a shop and get laughed at... but i guess they'll only laugh at you if they're your friends

[Maniact]

skip all that and rip the motor out to rebuild/upgrade everything

LMAO, this is the way to go

[herovueboi]

I've used this stuff for years and it helped my Prelude live as long as it did. I've heard about changing your oil right away after using it and I've done it that way ever since. I only do it at night though since it smokes like crazy!

[tbkonwso]

make sure you use seafoam in a open area!! i made the mistake thinking just by opening the garage door to vent was enough,,but noo......

[TKY]

I used seafoam on my DC2 once...after that it started leaking everywhere.

[herovueboi]

I used seafoam on my DC2 once...after that it started leaking everywhere.

Sometimes the things it cleans is what is holding your engine together. Carbon deposits I think is what it cleans.

[azn akira]

i wouldnt put that stuff in my car, too many potential problems with stuff like that. its not like your car is going to die without it. just keep the revs high and you wont have a problem with carbon build up

[naoaki]

Seafoam in the crankcase will make your oil look pretty bad after using it. Last time I used it my 2,000 mile oil had gone from golden to black so I went ahead and changed it. It doesn't say you need to on the can as far as I know, but a lot of people will recommend that you do change the oil within ~50 minutes.

Adding it through the vac system is easy if you use the brake booster line going into the intake manifold and have someone hold the rpms at ~2k while you slowly pour it in. The brake booster line is pretty large and it should hit all the cylinders on an I4. This can also foul your spark plugs.

Usually I add it to vac, cc, and gas and drive like an ass (redlining it a bit) for about 20 minutes then go home and change oil and plugs. I've not had a problem with it fouling my O2 sensor or clogging my cat, but then again I've always kept up maintenance on my car so there isn't a lot of carbon to dislodge.

[v8subie]

i wouldnt put that stuff in my car, too many potential problems with stuff like that. its not like your car is going to die without it. just keep the revs high and you wont have a problem with carbon build up

one rev a day keeps the apex seal from blowing away...

[azn akira]

Last time I used it my 2,000 mile oil had gone from golden to black so I went ahead and changed it.

oil can do that anyways...in fact its supposed to

[naoaki]

oil can do that anyways...in fact its supposed to

Read what you quoted more closely? It turned my golden oil black in the space of a few minutes of running the engine. Yes, oil will darken over time, but when you use a product that is meant to loosen carbon deposits and all of a sudden your oil is black (with carbon, mind you), when it was not black only moments before, maybe you should change it? I wasn't going to send my filter off for a Blackstone oil analysis and wait for the results before deciding whether or not it was worth changing the oil right then. Yes, it may have been fine, or maybe it loosened up enough deposits that it could be harmful to run with for an extended period of time in my oil. I chose the safe and quick option.

[kelvin6]

Actually I still discourage the use of heavy solvents in the crankcase. The reason being is that if you have weak rubber seals, such as the crankcase seals, rear main seals, the seafoam (which is solvent) will attack it. With a higher mileage car like mine, it would something I rather stay away from doing. Honestly the last thing I want to be doing is a rear main seal replacement, because that requires so much work for a lil $15 seal. I've actually gotten some very good results from using a product called AutoRX (www.auto-rx.com). Noticible increase in MPG and smoother engine running. Not to mention how clean the camshafts look now when I open the oil cap... wow, SHINY!

If you do my method of introducing seafoam into the intake, it should minimize the chance of hydrolocking the engine. I forgot to say that earlier.

[Adionik]

My friend tells me you are supposed to use seafoam with your dirty oil, let it run a bit, then do your regular oil change. I did the opposite. I did my oil change then topped it off with the recomended amount of seafoam.

God...why would you do that?

Run some through the PCV line and watch all the smoke go up